Serbia and Montenegro: media awards for child rights reporting

Belgrade, 21 November 2005: To mark Universal Children's Day, UNICEF in Serbia and Montenegro presented its annual media prize for the best reporting on children and child rights. The winners were:

In Montenegro:

Ljubisa Pejovic for his radio programme "A Long Journey Home", broadcast on Radio Antena M. The jury said:

"This prize winning work has an analytical approach and gradually illuminates the problems of marginalized children. Using the example of a boy suffering cerebral palsy, the author guides us to a different world where we face a reality in which a significant number of children who have disabilities depend on the goodwill, support and understanding of others. In this story, fortunately, there is a positive outcome. This programme is a good example that needs to be followed."

In Serbia:Duska Maksimovic for her article "Different -- So What?" published in the bi-wekkly Zenski Svet. The jury said: "What makes this article different from many good quality features on this and similar topics is the affirmative approach to the problems that too often appear to be unsolvable.Through a story about a family with two children with disabilities and the intensive cooperation between the association of parents and the management of a kindergarten, the article shows that it is quite possible to have a successful integration of these children into the environment of their peers who grow without similar difficulties."

Valentina Delic from PG Mreza for her TV feature "Lexicon Belgrade -- Travnik" broadcast on Radio Television of Serbia, Channel 2. The jury said:

"Two secondary school children, a boy from Travnik and a girl from Belgrade, establish contact and become friends who visit each other, alternately in Belgrade and Travnik, showing each other their respective cities, friends and families. Although they spent the difficult and gloomy 1990’s in quite different environments, they have both experienced war and destruction. This exciting feature represents the best possible encouragement and guidance for us, the adults, to take into account children and their feelings, their positions and ideas much more seriously."

Special Award:

This year, UNICEF presented a Special Award to Radio-Television B92 for their special contribution to the promotion of child rights. The jury said:

"Monitoring media reports children and child rights, we conclude that in 2005 Radio Television B92 has broadcast even 131 news and especially TV programmes on children and their rights in their prime time news programme.

RTV B92 has been reporting substantively and qualitatively on children’s and child rights issues. Thethemes were different – from child protection, education and health issues to child poverty, discrimination and exclusion.

A special quality of this TV station is their continuous reporting and their support to the efforts for making the status of children in line with the spirit and “letter” of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international documents and instruments.Besides raising awareness on the problems and issues and making appeals to the public, RTV B92 has often delivered arguments to gain commitment from political and social leaders and to call for concrete action."